A significant amount of research has been directed towards measuring damage to cognition, motor function, sensory function, and paralysis in subject suffering from a brain injury or spinal cord injury (SCI), and the mechanisms involved in each. Increased understanding of these mechanisms, and ability to manipulate them, would be of extraordinary scientific interest and practical importance. Cognitive impairment is one of the most common conditions that occurs in subjects suffering from a brain injury or SCI. Such impairment may include a reduction in the ability to learn new information and/or to retrieve information that has previously been learned. Decreased motor or sensory function and paralysis are some of the most common conditions that occurs in SCI subjects. Such loss of function in subjects that have suffered a brain injury or SCI results in decreased quality of life and independence. Often one or more neurological impairments persists after a subject has been treated for the trauma and acute phase of injuries that resulted from the trauma.
At present there is a lack of effective pharmacological methods for improving cognitive impairment, motor function, sensory function, and paralysis in subject suffering from one or more neurological impairments that have resulted from traumatic brain injury, hypoxic event, SCI, or other trauma. A need exists for such materials and methods.